


Two Journeys

by gleefulfan



Category: Les Misérables (2012), Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-18
Updated: 2013-02-02
Packaged: 2017-11-25 22:21:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/643560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gleefulfan/pseuds/gleefulfan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After not seeing each other for two years, Enjolras comes to Grantaire to ask for help with a delicate matter regarding intimacy. Modern College AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

After getting a bit turned around in this unfamiliar section of town, Enjolras arrived at the address Combeferre had texted, dismayed but unsurprised by the establishment's rundown look. Grantaire had always sought out the dingiest bars in the area so this place seemed right up his alley, probably constantly on the verge of shutdown by the health inspectors.  
  
Enjolras hesitated a moment outside, wondering if this was a conversation he really needed to have, before steeling himself and confidently pushing through the front doors. He'd gone over every possible solution to his problem and had concluded that Grantaire was the best, most practical solution, so there was no reason to stop now. Enjolras' eyes took a minute to adjust from the bright daylight to the windowless dark he found himself in, but as they did, he found a mostly empty space, save for a few drunks scattered around and Grantaire behind the bar, just as Combeferre had promised.  
  
Grantaire hadn't looked over when he entered, occupied with restocking some sort of liquor so Enjolras walked over and sat on the cleanest looking barstool he could find. He cleared his throat to try and get Grantaire's attention but just received a gruff 'hold on' instead.  
  
Enjolras waited but Grantaire made no move to actually turn towards him, so he eventually called out "This seems like poor customer service, even for you Grant."  
  
Grant seemed to freeze for a moment, though Enjolras couldn't really tell with the dim lighting. But when he turned around he seemed unaffected and Enjolras dismissed the notion. "Enjolras, my my, what a surprise. Have you fallen so far off your high horse that you've landed here? Come to drink your sorrows away like the rest of the human race?"  
  
Grant's tone was less than friendly, which Enjolras found unsurprising though still a bit disappointing. They had parted harshly two years ago, and while passions had long cooled on Enjolras' side, they clearly hadn't for Grant. "Not exactly. I wanted to speak with you and Combeferre told me you worked here. Do you have a few minutes?"  
  
"Well, as you can see I've got a number of VIP customers at the moment," Grant said, "But I suppose I can take a minute for the great Enjolras." Grantaire's sarcasm was well-known to Enjolras, to everyone that had ever met him, but there was a new, bitter tone to voice that Enjolras found disconcerting. "What do you need badly enough to bring you to my doorstep?"  
  
Enjolras leaned in a bit and lowered his voice. "It's really more of a . . . private matter. Is there somewhere we might be able to talk alone?" Enjolras knew he was being overly cautious, but he didn't want anyone to overhear this conversation, even a few old drunks who probably couldn't pick him out of a lineup  
  
Grantaire rolled his eyes and tossed his dishrag down on the bar. "Oh for the love of God," he muttered. "GAVROCHE, get out here!" A young man (really a boy Enjolras thought) came flying out of the back room a moment later. "Watch the bar for a minute, don't serve anyone alcohol, yell if anyone tries to steal something, got it?" Gavroche nodded excitedly and Grantaire started walking towards the door that Gavroche had come out of, not bothering to look back to see if Enjolras was following.  
  
They entered the storage room, which by Enjolras' estimate managed to somehow be even more disgusting than the front, and Grantaire pulled over two chairs and sat down. Grantaire clearly wanted to seem unaffected by Enjolras' presence but he was also oddly tense, more so than Enjolras had expected given the two years that had passed. "So what is so very important Enjolras? How can I help you save the world today?"  
  
Enjolras sat down across from him, trying to choose his words carefully. "It's not about saving the world, as I said it's a personal matter." He'd rehearsed this speech a number of times but now that he was actually here he was grasping for words. "As you know I've always been very . . . focused when it comes to working towards the ideals I believe in." Grantaire scoffed and Enjolras knew he was about to make a snide remark so he spoke over him. "Please Grant, just let me finish and then you can mock me all you want."  
  
Grant looked surprised, but fell silent and waited for Enjolras to continue. "As I said I've always been very focused, sometimes to the detriment of other aspects of my life. I know that you and other have pointed this out to me before and I've dismissed it, but as graduation approaches I've been reconsidering. There are some things I think I should . . . experience at this stage of my life" If nothing else, Enjolras had certainly captured Grantaire's attention so far. He was staring at him as if he were a great puzzle in need of figuring out. Enjolras looked away as he continued, feeling too unsettled to meet Grantaire's stare.  
  
"I would like to gain some experience in . . . sexual matters," Enjolras said, relieved to have finally gotten the words out. "In my single-mindedness, I've never really pursued such things but it really seems well past time. I'm very busy now and it's only going to get worse after graduation and who knows where I'll be - I could spend years in a country where homosexuality is illegal, I could be in an isolated village . . ."  
  
"Wait, wait, wait," Grantaire said holding up a hand at Enjolras, voice incredulous. He then paused briefly before speaking again. "Just to be clear, you came here after we haven't seen each other for two years to ask me to teach you to take it up the ass in case you end up spending the rest of your twenties in like fucking Sudan or wherever saving the fucking world?"  
  
Enjolras couldn't help but cough at Grantaire's blunt statement, though he certainly heard worse from him before. "Well, I was thinking more broadly than that, but essentially yes. I know this is a bit out of the blue, but I needed someone I could trust and obviously who was gay. I don't exactly want to advertise my inexperience and I've always trusted you to keep my confidences, even when we disagreed."  
  
"And your old dropout friend Grant's nice and out of the way too, right? I'm sure that doesn't hurt." Grantaire was definitely annoyed though as best Enjolras could tell he hadn't dismissed the idea out-of-hand. "Let me ask you this then, where have you been the past two years? You praise me now when I'm needed but you've happily ignored me since the day I left school."  
  
It was Enjolras' turn to look a bit incredulous. "You _told_ me to leave you alone, screamed at me to never contact you again, what did you expect of me? I tried to respect your wishes, I only came today after Combeferre assured me enough time had passed."  
  
"I was angry, I never thought you would just let me disappear like that!" Enjolras didn't know what to say to that, so he remained silent. "Nevermind, forget it." Grant rubbed his face with his hands, as if to reorient himself within the conversation. "So you want to have sex with me, why, why me, Enjolras?"  
  
"As I said, because I trust you and we were friends once, and we're both gay."  
  
"No, no, there must be something more than that." Grant was staring again, searching Enjolras' face intently. He moved forward, placing his hands on Enjolras' knees. "Tell me why you want to have sex with me."  
  
Enjolras could tell he was being tested, that there was some combination of words that he could say to make Grantaire agree to his proposal. But he was at a loss for what those words were. He'd certainly heard some of the sweet nothings that the boys had recounted saying to girls to get them into their beds, but that hardly seemed appropriate here. His eloquence was failing him. "I mean, contrary to popular belief I do have a sex drive. And sex is fun and feels good, though I mean you would know better than me. And we're both reasonably fit so it should be good, right?"  
  
Grantaire looked down and Enjolras knew he had missed his chance. After a moment Grantaire said "I can't help you, I'm sorry." He backing off from Enjolras and stood back up. "And I need to get back out front before I get fired; after all it's not like I have a college degree to fall back on."  
  
Enjolras stood up as well, wishing he knew what to say to improve how they were leaving things. "Well, I hope you'll reconsider but very well. It was good to see you again though, Grant. Hopefully I’ll see you again before two years go by?"  
  
Grantaire smiled wryly as he led Enjolras back to the front of the bar. "Somehow I bet you will.”  
  
* * *  
  
 _It had only been a few days but Grantaire had already decided that the college life was for him. It was like a party that never stopped, though he supposed classes would have to impede on that eventually. But for now he could focus on where he could find free food, cheap drinks, and gays guys beyond the two others from his hometown to fuck._  
  
 _Grantaire was trying to remember the names of the people he'd talked to last night to friend them on Facebook when Joly returned to their dorm room. "Hey man, look at you, awake and sitting up and everything, I'm impressed."_  
  
 _"Fuck off Joly." So Grantaire had a tendency to sleep a little later than most people, at least he wasn't a early-morning freak like his roommate. "Where have you been anyway?"_  
  
 _"I had to get a class changed because it ended up interfering with club swimming," Joly said as he sat down at his own desk. "The registrar's office is awful, it took hours, avoid it at all costs."_  
  
 _"Oh, don't worry I plan to," Grantaire said. "And I doubt I'll have anything to interfere with my class schedule, I'm not exactly the joining type."_  
  
 _"Dude, that's like half the fun of college joining a bunch of shit and finding what you like to do. You've gotta join something."_  
  
 _Grantaire scoffed, clearly he and Joly had very different ideas about what the fun parts of college are. "Are there any drinking clubs because so far I think that's my true calling in life."_  
  
 _"I doubt they're going to let any 19 year olds into a drinking club Grant. You know what, come with me to Fall Fest tonight, I bet you'll find something there."_  
  
 _"What exactly is a Fall Fest?" Fall Fest did not sound like someplace Grantaire wanted to be._  
  
 _"It's like a big block party where all the clubs have booths and try to get people to join and there's performances and stuff too. Everyone's going, you should come too."_  
  
 _Grantaire paused. There was_ one _thing that could convince him to go. "Is there free food?"_  
  
 _"Loads of it."_  
  
 _Grantaire smiled. "Then I don't see why not."_  
  
 _* * *_  
  
 _At least Joly hadn't lied about the food Grantaire thought as he circled around for a second piece of pizza from one of the a capella groups' tables. He really should have brought some kind of paper bag or something to collect food for the next couple days. The groups themselves were about as lame as Grantaire had expected, though Joly seemed enamored with the pre-med table on the other side of the street._  
  
 _He continued further down the blocked off road, hoping someone down here had had the good sense to bring dessert, or preferably some alcohol. It was there in the middle of the street, at almost the very last table, Grantaire saw the most beautiful man he'd ever laid eyes on. The man was staffing one of the booths, animatedly speaking to a couple of students with such fervor one would think there was a crowd of thousands listening to him. His blond hair shook around his face as spoke and his bright blue eyes were visible to Grantaire from here._  
  
 _Grantaire stood still for a minute, at least, perhaps longer, he couldn't really remember. When the rest of the world outside of this man came back to him, Grantaire stepped forward until he was just behind the pair of students listening attentively._  
  
 _"We here at Students for a Democratic Society believe that injustice anywhere in the world is injustice everywhere in the world. The 20th century idea of nations bound by arbitrary lines on a map is but an obstacle to the goal of a more equal and just democratic world. No nation has the right to oppress any group of people and the excuse of national sovereignty to allow oppression and injustice and even genocide is just that, an excuse from a failed and dying bureaucracy that must be replaced for the good of all the people of the world."_  
  
 _Grantaire knew the last thing he should do if he wanted any chance with this guy was not to make a snarky comment at the end of his speech, but never was one for very much self-control. And the guy was probably straight anyway. "And presumably our names and school email addresses will bring about this brave new world, right?"_  
  
 _The other two students snickered, but Enjolras seemed unfazed, focusing his gaze on Grantaire for the first time. "I don't claim that any of the goals we strive towards will be simple or easy to accomplish or even that we will live to see it done. But all great movements in history start when a group of people are told that an ideal is impossible and continue on anyways." He held out the sign-up clipboard. "So, what do you say, will you join our cause?"_  
  
 _Grantaire had vowed not to sign-up with any group at Fall Fest, at least not with his real name, but under the stare of this gorgeous, charismatic man he found himself signing his real information. But if he was allowing some crazy group to send him a bunch of emails, he was at least getting something out of it. "If I'm giving you my name, the least you can do if give me yours."_  
  
 _The man looked unsure for the first time since Grantaire had first seen him. "Oh, my name's Enjolras, though most people call me Enjy. It's a little easier to pronounce."_  
  
 _"Well, Enjolras," Grantaire said perfectly, giving a silent thanks to his high school French teacher. "Good luck changing the world."_  
  
 _Grantaire turned to walk away, not wanting to cross the line between interested and creepy. But Enjolras called after him, "I hope to see you at one of our meetings, Grant."_  
  
 _Grantaire turned back briefly and replied "We'll see" but under his breath he said, "Somehow I bet you will."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After not seeing each other for two years, Enjolras comes to Grantaire to ask for help with a delicate matter regarding intimacy. Modern College AU

After a less-than-successful rendezvous with Grantaire, Enjolras had had a series of meetings back on campus. He was finally able to head back to his apartment off-campus well after dark, feeling much more drained than usual. Nothing had gone quite right today - seeing Grantaire again had been unsettling and then discussing sex was not something Enjolras was used to.  
  
He had generally avoided talk of sex and romance, preferring to fill his time with the vastly more important work to which he had dedicated his life. Enjolras certainly had sexual needs and desires (he was not asexual as some had guessed) but masturbation had always been sufficient to keep things under control. But recently he had been craving something more, wanting to experience some of what everyone else seemed to think the sun and moon revolved around.  
  
The only problem was, Enjolras didn’t have the slightest clue how to go about getting someone into his bed and then what to do with them once they got there. It had been Marius who had suggested approaching Grantaire, after Enjolras had confided his predicament in his closest friend. After wrapping his head around it, Enjolras had become a bit attached to the idea. Grantaire was good-looking and experienced and could actually be a good teacher on the rare occasions he bothered to try. And most importantly Enjolras trusted him, despite what had happened two years ago.  
  
When Combeferre said that he believed Grantaire would be open to seeing him again Enjolras had gotten his hopes up, only to be dashed by a quick rejection. Enjolras tried to put the whole situation out of his mind as he arrived at his apartment building - he had a number of important projects pending that would be much more beneficial to campus than sex with Grantaire.  
  
It was difficult to actually get Grantaire out of his mind though, when he turned the corner to find the man himself sitting right outside his apartment, holding a mostly empty beer bottle. Upon first glance Grantaire didn’t _look_ drunk but Enjolras knew sometimes it was difficult to tell. “Hey Grant, what are you doing here?”  
  
Grantaire got up and dusted himself off a bit. “Finally! I should have known you wouldn’t get home until after nine.” Grantaire finished off the beer and then looked expectantly at Enjolras. “So are you gonna open the door or do you want to do this out here?”  
  
Enjolras shook off his surprise and pulled out his keys to open the door. “Do what exactly?” he asked as he opened the door and let Grantaire in to his apartment, which was small and unsurprisingly spartan.  
  
“Have sex, of course,” Grantaire said.  
  
Enjolras paused. “But you said no that, remember? Just earlier today.”  
  
“Oh yeah, I thought it over and changed my mind.” Grantaire tossed the beer bottle in the recycling bin by the door and looked around the apartment. “Wow, this looks exactly like your dorm room, good to see some things never change.”  
  
* * *  
  
 _Grantaire looked at his phone again, triple checking that he had read the message correctly. But there it was clear as day-_ **Grant, could you come by my dorm room later tonight?**   _Grantaire was trying really hard not to read anything into the message, but he couldn’t help the thrill of excitement that ran through him at the prospect._  
  
 _Not much had changed for Grantaire since school had started. Less drinking and more schoolwork, unfortunately, and well, one or two meetings of the Students for a Democratic Society. Or every single one since Fall Fest. He hadn’t meant to attend these ridiculous meetings, but every time they came around he just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Enjolras in his element._  
  
 _It was a sight to behold, Enjolras speaking to a group of like-minded activists. Grantaire could tell that by the end, everyone was always ready to follow him straight off a cliff. Grantaire was inspired too, but in a slightly more X-rated sort of way. It wasn’t his fault that the sight of Enjolras going off on some injustice or another made Grantaire think of Enjolras naked and writhing below him in his bed._  
  
 _But that unfortunately had remained merely a fantasy. At least Combeferre had confirmed to Grantaire that Enjolras was gay, though he couldn’t recall ever seeing him with a boyfriend or even a date. So while the fantasy wasn’t completely impossible, it wasn’t any closer to happening than the first night they had met._  
  
 _Enjolras had greeted him at the first meeting and they’d had a few friendly conversations and one heated argument after Grantaire got tired of listening to a particularly ridiculous debate. But Enjolras seemed uninterested in anything more than that, from Grantaire or anyone. Ironically he’d become closer to Enjolras’ friends than the man himself._  
  
 _Marius and Combeferre were both passionate about their activism without being as obsessive as Enjolras was. They’d even gone out drinking with Grantaire a few times, where he discovered that, when drunk, Combeferre liked to get into debates with the bartender over philosophy and Marius pined over some girl he met at orientation and hadn’t seen since. They were, essentially, relatively normal guys that Grantaire was happy to call his friends._  
  
 _Enjolras, as far as Grantaire could tell, never drank and rarely went out socially. It both intrigued and annoyed Grantaire in equal parts. He wished he could just forget about Enjolras, but he’d had no such luck so far. He'd even vowed to stop going to meetings a couple times but it had never stuck._  
  
 _And now here he was, about to be in Enjolras’ dorm room (alone?) for who knows what reason. Grantaire took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Enjolras opened the door a few seconds later with the biggest smile on his face that Grantaire had ever seen him have. “Grant, it’s good to see you, please come in.”_  
  
 _Grantaire walked in, finding a small single dorm room with hardly any adornments. There was a bed haphazardly made and a messy desk with various stack of papers and not much else. “Hey Enjolras, um, nice dorm room.”_  
  
 _“Thanks, sorry I don’t have another chair, feel free to sit on the bed.” Grantaire did, nervously bouncing up and down on the mattress a couple times. “So how’s your first semester gone? Enjoying college?”_  
  
 _This was definitely the most interest Enjolras had ever shown in Grantaire life, or anyone’s as far as Grantaire had seen. “It’s been great, I was definitely ready to get out on my own and I’ve met some great people, had a lot of fun. And the SDS meetings have been interesting. What about you, how’s your semester been?”_  
  
 _Enjolras smiled brightly again and Grantaire was glad he was already sitting down. “It’s been good, thanks for asking. Never enough time in the day it seems, but I think we’ve done some good things this semester.” Grantaire might disagree with the ratio of good to pointless this semester but he wasn’t going to say anything to ruin whatever moment they were having. “I’m actually glad you mentioned SDS, that’s why I wanted to talk to you.”_  
  
 _“Oh,” Grantaire said, trying to hide his disappointment. “Sure, what’s up?”_  
  
 _“As you know, elections are happening in January and I’m running for president,” Grantaire nodded. The presidency normally went to a junior but no one was foolish enough to stand against Enjolras, even if he was only a sophomore. “I want to make sure that when I’m president, the whole leadership team is on the same page. Marius is running for vice president and Combeferre is running for treasurer.”_  
  
 _“And you want my support?” Grantaire asked, confused as to why Enjolras was telling him all this. “You’ve obviously got it.”_  
  
 _“Actually, I was hoping for a bit more than that. We were discussing the last leadership position, secretary, and I was hoping you’d consider running for that position as part of our team.”_  
  
 _“Really, you think I’m the best choice?” Grantaire asked. Grantaire hadn’t had a leadership position in anything since he was randomly chosen as captain of his soccer team when he was seven._  
  
 _“Well you’ve had perfect attendance since you joined and when you’ve spoken up, you’ve been very knowledgeable, even if we haven’t always agreed.” That all happened to be true Grantaire thought, but not exactly for the purest of reasons. “And even though I know we haven’t talked much, Marius and Combeferre both said you’d be loyal and trustworthy, which is extremely important to me. Marius was actually the one to suggest you.”_  
  
 _That made marginally more sense to Grantaire but it still seemed like a terrible idea. Agreeing to it would likely end in embarrassment, either with the club or with Enjolras. “Well I’m flattered, but I don’t know, I’m not really the leadership type.”_  
  
 _Enjolras leaned in from the chair and placed a hand on Grantaire’s knee. “Please, Grant? I’d consider it a personal favor.”_  
  
 _Grantaire felt the warmth of Enjolras’ hand through his jeans and looked up to see Enjolras staring at him plaintively with those bright blue eyes and knew he was lost. “If you really think I’m the best choice, then I guess I’ll do it.”  
  
_ _Man, Grantaire really wished he had a drink right now._

* * *  
  
“Grant, I have to ask, are you drunk?” Enjolras didn’t want to upset Grantaire, but he was acting odd, even for him, and it’s not like it was unlikely that he had been drinking.  
  
“Nope, just that one beer, for courage I guess, or luck or whatever it doesn’t matter. Is this the bedroom?” Grantaire opened a door, which did happen to be the bedroom, and walked in. Enjolras followed behind him.  
  
The bedroom was similarly sparse, with nothing more than a dresser, a nightstand, and a neatly made full-sized bed filling the small room. Grantaire sat down on the bed and bounced a couple times, testing out the mattress. “So, um, we’re going to have sex tonight?” Enjolras asked, rubbing his neck and trying to keep the tone of his voice even. He knew this was what he had asked Grantaire for, but now that it was here, Enjolras found himself to be quite nervous. His dick had no such concern though, as it was already starting to harden in his jeans.  
  
“We’re going to start your education tonight, Enjolras. You wanted to learn about sex, right? Well that’s going to take more than one night and more than just doing it once or twice.” Grantaire stood back up, right in front of Enjolras. “Now take off your clothes.”  
  
Enjolras stood there for a moment dumbfounded before starting to unbutton his shirt - if Grantaire was going to help him he wasn’t going to complain about the timing. He’d used locker rooms before, been naked in front of other guys, but usually not hard (which he definitely was now) and never in his bedroom, so this was definitely new. But that _was_ the point, so he pulled off his shirt and started working on his shoes and socks. Grantaire just watched, unashamedly raking his eyes over Enjolras’ body as it was revealed to him.  
  
Soon Enjolras was stripped down to his boxer-briefs, with his dick obviously bulging against the fabric. He was about to pull those down as well when Grantaire stayed his hand. “That’s good for now.”  
  
“Tonight’s lesson is about pleasure, specifically accepting it. I don’t want you to do anything but enjoy yourself ok?” Enjolras nodded, his throat too dry to try and speak. Grantaire placed a hand softly over Enjolras’ heart before moving in to chastely kiss Enjolras on the lips. But he hovered there for only a moment before moving down to Enjolras’ jawline, leaving soft kisses along it as his hands slipped down Enjolras’ chest. Enjolras did as he was told and stood still as Grantaire moved down to suck on his neck, his hands rubbing over Enjolras’ nipples, causing his dick to jump against Grantaire’s leg.  
  
Enjolras let out a soft moan as Grantaire reached down and grabbed his ass inside his boxer-briefs, squeezing it before pulling Enjolras’ body closer to him so that there was no space left between them. Grantaire’s shirt rubbed roughly against Enjolras’ naked chest as Grantaire continued kissing along Enjolras’ collarbone.  
  
“Go lay down on the bed,” Grantaire whispered and Enjolras did, lying flat on his back. He tried to keep his breathing steady as he watched Grantaire remove his own shirt, revealing a slim but toned body that had Enjolras’ dick jumping again. Grantaire got onto the bed as well, straddling his legs. He said only the word ‘beautiful’ before leaning down and licking and nipping at one of Enjolras’ nipples, which caused Enjolras to arch up into the contact. Grantaire continued the same down his chest, making Enjolras pant with want by the time he reached the waistband of his boxer-briefs.  
  
Grantaire grabbed the waistband and slipped them down slowly, moving off of Enjolras long enough to pull them all the way off. Enjolras’ dick was now pointing straight up, freed from his underwear and as Grantaire moved back on Enjolras, he focused on it immediately. Grantaire licked it from base to tip, causing Enjolras to gasp, before taking it into his mouth entirely.  
  
Enjolras had a sizable cock, but Grantaire had clearly had enough practice to take it down all at once. Grantaire’s mouth was hot and wet and unlike anything Enjolras had ever experienced. His hands grabbed at the comforter to try and keep himself under control while Grantaire slid his mouth up and down his cock. Enjolras was moaning and groaning louder now, not caring how he sounded. The pleasure was so intense that he was afraid things were about to come to an abrupt finish but Grantaire pulled off of him before his orgasm started.  
  
Grantaire took each of Enjolras’ balls in his mouth briefly, then started sucking and nipping at the inside of Enjolras’ thighs like he had on his chest. “Fuck Grant, this feels so good.”  
  
That caused Grantaire to pause and look up. “Use my full name,” he said and Enjolras nodded, happy to do anything to keep this going. Grantaire moved back down and Enjolras’ legs farther apart licking under his balls before moving back up towards his dick.  
  
Grant shifted to where he was kneeling just beside the bed and pulled Enjolras towards him until he could reach his cock again. Enjolras moaned out ‘Grantaire’ for the first time and that caused Grantaire to moan in response around his dick. Grantaire was shifting around a bit but Enjolras couldn’t really tell what he was doing and with Grantaire sucking him off again he honestly didn’t really care.  
  
Grantaire grabbed and one of Enjolras’ hands and moved it towards his hair, which Enjolras took as direction. He started running his hand through Grantaire’ thick black curls, pulling at them just slightly. That made Grantaire just suck harder and before Enjolras could get anything out other than “Grantaire, I’m” he was cumming, with practically his whole body shaking as he felt Grantaire swallow down every spurt.  
  
Grantaire kept sucking and licking his cock post-orgasm until he started to soften, after which Grantaire laid his head against one of Enjolras’ thighs and rested a hand once again on Enjolras’ chest, where Enjolras was still trying to catch his breath.  
  
“Fuck,” was all Enjolras could say when he was finally able to speak. “I had no idea.”  
  
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”  
  
They laid silently for a moment before Enjolras thought to ask, “Did you . . . ?  
  
Grantaire chuckled against Enjolras’ hip. “Oh yes, don’t worry.”  
  
Enjolras smiled. “Good. Obviously I want you to be getting something out of this too.”

Grantaire said nothing in response, but a moment later he was moving off the bed and pulling his jeans back up. Enjolras was suddenly aware of how naked and exposed he was and sat up, covering himself with the comforter. By then Grantaire was putting his shirt back on and Enjolras started to feel like something was wrong. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh yes, everything’s just fine,” Grantaire said in a voice that made it clear that he was not at all fine. “We both just got something - you’re a real boy now and I sucked off the great _Enjolras_  so we’re all square.” At that point Grantaire was fully dressed again. “So for your next lesson why don’t you just go fuck yourself.”  
  
Grantaire stormed out, slamming the door on his way for good measure. Enjolras fell back against the bed with a sigh, knowing that he had definitely fucked something up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update scheduled for Friday, find me at tumblr under the same name for questions, etc.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I got a bad cold and was out-of-commission for three or four days. No smut this chapter but don't worry we'll get back to it soon.

  
  
_As Enjolras’ hand-picked candidate, Grantaire had been a shoe-in and as of the club’s first meeting in January was the club’s Secretary. It’s never something he would have personally wanted, but all things considered it wasn’t so bad. He mostly just took half-hearted notes of every meeting, notes that only Enjolras ever wanted to look at, and took forms to the student affairs office. The lame tasks were more than worth it compared to the main perk - being invited to the club’s planning meetings, or as Grantaire thought of it, Enjolras’ inner circle._  
  
 _The biggest change since becoming an officer was that he'd actually become friends with Enjolras, to the extent that Enjolras was friends with anyone. Grantaire still couldn't help but pick arguments with him when he was being utterly unrealistic, but they’d also talked about their classes (Enjolras was struggling through his science requirement, Astronomy) and their families (Enjolras was an only child) and anything else that might come up. And most of it happened on the planning meeting nights._  
  
 _The meetings consisted of the four officers plus a few other long-time members of the club that Enjolras trusted - usually Courfeyrac, Jehan, and Feuilly and occasionally Eponine. Eponine wasn’t a student but was always looking for ways to get involved and came by whenever she could get off work. Grantaire was definitely the least idealistic person there in attendance, but he looked forward to meeting nights more than anyone else._  
  
 _It had quickly became clear to Grantaire that Enjolras was at his most comfortable at these meetings. One of the things that equally drawn Grantaire to Enjolras and repelled him was that Enjolras seemed to always be 100% on. It was as if Enjolras believed a revolution was going to be sparked at any moment and he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to give the speech to kick it off. But at these meetings, usually held in Marius and Courfeyrac’s dorm room, he relaxed, joked around, even occasionally had a beer after the discussions had devolved into late-night hijinks._  
  
 _Tonight’s meeting was unlikely to devolve into one of the nights Grantaire most enjoyed. The board of trustees had just voted against the proposed disinvestment from Sudan that the group had spent the past six months working to get before the board. Enjolras was livid, and he wasn’t the only one._  
  
 _“It is outrageous how dismissive the board was of our proposal,” Courfeyrac said. Grantaire had just arrived and the venting was already in full swing. He took a seat on the carpet, only coincidentally beside where Enjolras was seated at Marius’ desk._  
  
 _“They clearly didn’t take us seriously,” Marius said. “Just another student cause to be disposed of, as if people’s lives aren’t at stake. It’s a fucking genocide!”_  
  
 _“Well Americans are pretty good at ignoring genocide when they want to,” Grantaire pointed out._  
  
 _“Then we must take measures to ensure this travesty cannot be ignored,” Enjolras said, speaking up for the first time since Grantaire arrived. “We cannot stand idly by while thousands are murdered every day and we cannot allow this university to continue implicitly supporting it.”  There was a tone in his voice that Grantaire had never heard before and it concerned him._  
  
 _“Do you have an idea Enjolras?” Combeferre asked._  
  
 _“I do, I admit that it’s drastic, but under the circumstances I think it’s necessary.” Now Grantaire was really worried. “Before I continue, I must warn you all that I’m about to propose an act of civil disobedience that could involve violating the law - if anyone wants to leave, no one will hold it against you.”_  
  
 _Grantaire knew he should really take the opportunity that Enjolras had just provided. Committing some sort of crime was so far from what Grantaire signed up for it wasn’t even in the same zip code. If Enjolras wasn’t so damn beautiful, he wouldn’t be here at all! He almost did, he almost got up and walked out but then Enjolras glanced at him as he paused, as if he expected Grantaire to be the one to leave. And if there was one thing Grantaire sure wasn’t doing, it was giving Enjolras the satisfaction of being right about him on this._  
  
 _Instead Grantaire just crossed his arms and looked back at Enjolras, waiting for him to continue. Enjolras did just that, beginning to detail his plans, and as Grantaire listened, that sinking feeling quickly returned. What exactly had he gotten himself into?_  
  
* * *  
  
Enjolras arrived at the door of Grantaire's basement apartment, coffee and breakfast pastries in hand. The first thing he'd done after getting up this morning was calling Marius, who after a fair amount of teasing and congratulating explained to Enjolras that people one is sleeping with must be affordable certain luxuries, especially just after sex. You can't act like sex was a transaction or treat them like you would if we were all sitting around the mess hall joking. You have to make it clear you still respect and value them. Enjolras didn't entirely understand why someone would feel that way after having sex, but Marius was the one of them with a stable, long-term relationship so he would know.  
  
Marius advised an apology and some sort of gift, and since Enjolras knew that Grantaire had probably gotten drunk after leaving his apartment last night and almost certainly wasn't awoken yet, he had the perfect solution. He knocked on the door, then after a few seconds knocked again and soon heard the sounds of someone shuffling around muttering to themselves. Grantaire opened the door bleary-eyed, wearing only boxers and a ratty old t-shirt, only to try and swing it back closed after seeing that it was Enjolras. Enjolras had anticipated that, though, and caught the door well before it had closed again.  
  
"Go away Enjolras," Grantaire said, turning away and not bothering to fight him on the door. "I don't want to hear it."  
  
Enjolras stepped in and closed the door behind him. "Even if it's an apology?" That at least got Grantaire to turn around.  
  
He eyed the coffees in Enjolras' hands, taking the one that Enjolras offered and sitting down on the couch. He closed his eyes and took a long sip, savoring it before looking back up at Enjolras. "Ok, go."  
  
Enjolras didn't skip a beat - semi-rehearsed speeches were right in his wheelhouse. "I’ve been very insensitive to you, Grant, and for that I’m very sorry. I should have realized that in proposing a sexual relationship and then in embarking on one, the boundaries of our relationship would inevitably change and would require different actions on my part. I can only blame my own inexperience in this area, but I promise I’ll try to do better and treat the situation and you with the respect you deserve.”  
  
Grantaire ran his fingers through his unkempt hair, reminding Enjolras of doing the same thing just last night, which was really not what he should be thinking about at the moment. “You don’t have to sound so fucking formal Enjolras, I’m not drawing up articles of impeachment.” But there was a hint of a smile on his face and Enjolras was pretty sure he’d was on his way to accomplishing his goal.  
  
Enjolras mirrored Grantaire’s smile. “I can’t help myself.”  
  
“Ok, sit down and open the bag.” Grantaire slid over on the couch and Enjolras sat down beside him and pulled out the pastries he’d bought from the coffee shop. “I’m not mad,” Grantaire said as he reached for a bear crawler and took a huge bite out of it. “I was never really mad, I guess, but we should have talked beforehand. That was my fault, rushing things.”  
  
Enjolras agreed, that was Grantaire's fault, but decided his agreement was better left unsaid. "So we should talk now, right? Set some sort of ground rules or something?"  
  
Grantaire leaned back and sighed, seemingly troubled again. "Yes I guess we should."  
  
"I guess the question is, what do you want out of, you know, what we're doing?" Enjolras wished language was as clear in this area as it was in other places. Every word he thought of brought along a minefield of connotations and so instead of risking it, he avoided them all and ended up sounding like a blubbering idiot.  
  
"That is a very good question," Grantaire said, but failed to continue speaking, leaving the silence to hover over them as they eat. Eventually, after an interminable wait, he spoke again. "I want . . . for this not to just be a simple business arrangement. I know you're not looking for a relationship and neither am I, obviously, but I don't want to be your sex trainer. We were friends once, good friends I thought, and I'd like that to be true again. So whenever we're intimate, I want us to <em>be</em> intimate, not just, I don't know, cock-sucking practice." Grantaire turned towards Enjolras. "Does that make any sort of sense?"  
  
Enjolras was honestly a bit surprised by Grantaire's straightforwardness. Grantaire was usually only eloquent in arguments, otherwise preferring sarcasm and humor to converse day-to-day. "I think it does. All I can say is that I'm about as experienced in intimacy as I am in sex, actually less so if you include last night. But I'm willing to learn if you're willing to be patient with me, and not storm out the next time I say something wrong."  
  
Grantaire laughed. "But it was such a good exit - you just wish you could leave your meetings with the faculty like that."  
  
That got a grin out of Enjolras. "That's true, as long as they're not just covered by a comforter like I was."  
  
"That's the key, that was they can't follow!" They were both laughing now, the tension from last night truly broken. They finished off the rest of the food Enjolras had brought, catching up on the past two years in each others' lives. Grantaire wasn't surprised by most of what he heard, apparently having kept with the campus goings-on through Combeferre and Jolly. Enjolras, to his own current regret, had heard little of Grantaire's life the past two years.  
  
After leaving school Grantaire had moved back home briefly, before quickly realizing that he would rather be homeless than live with his family again. The first chance he gotten he'd moved back to the city and taken a job as a janitor. After living in a couple of terrible places with entirely too many roommates, he was hired as a bartender, allowing him to move to his current apartment.  
  
"That's really great, Grant, I'm glad things have worked out for you."  
  
"Well, can't fuck things up forever, I suppose." Grantaire started picking up their trash and throwing it away. "So do you have meetings or something to get to?" he asked.  
  
Enjolras checked his watch. "Not for a couple hours yet. Why, did you have something in mind?"  
  
Grantaire smiled. "Let's think of it as an introduction to intimacy."  
  
* * *  
  
"This is ridiculous," Enjolras complained as Grantaire turned on the water. "If you'd gotten up at a decent hour and showered like a normal person, you never would have suggested this."  
  
"I'm hurt that you'd think that Enjy," Grantaire said, hand over his heart. "This shower is for you, for your education."  
  
"I know how to shower, having already done so once this morning," Enjolras said in a huff.  
  
"Well, now you'll be extra clean!" Grantaire started pulling off his shirt. "Now hurry up, last one in has to do all the work." Enjolras gaped for a second before racing to unbuckle his pants.  
  
Grantaire of course jumped in first, only having had two pieces of clothing to take off, but Enjolras was just a few seconds behind him. Grantaire's shower wasn't anything special but there was just enough room for the two of them to move semi-comfortably.  
  
Grantaire was the one under the shower spray so Enjolras was able to watch as his wild curls were tamed by the water and fell across his forehead. Grantaire pushed them back and blinked away the water in his eyes. "There you are, what took you so long?"  
  
"You are terrible."  
  
Grantaire smirked and then put his arms on Enjolras' shoulders, pulling them closer together. "Now, now, don't pout. I promise intimacy is fun for everyone involved." Grantaire pulled Enjolras into a lengthy kiss and Enjolras wrapped his arms around Grantaire’s waist, eliminating the space between them.  
  
Just as Enjolras was starting to get hard against Grantaire's thigh, Grantaire pulled away and picked up the soap. “But first, I am owed a shower,” he said, grinning and handing the soap to Enjolras.


End file.
